Dr. Christian Scheier is one of the few neuropsychologists worldwide who combines science and practical competence in marketing consultation. After a scientific career at the renowned California Institute of Technology and the successful development of an agency for marketing research, he founded DECODE Marketingberatung GmbH together with Dr. Dirk Held.

Dr Dirk Held, along with Dr Christian Scheier, is the co-founder and joint CEO of DECODE marketing consultancy. He is one of the leading experts in translating scientific findings into actual marketing practice. He is the author of several bestselling books on the topic of neuromarketing, and he advises international brands on how to optimise their marketing activities. Dr Held has a degree in psychology, an MBA and his PhD in behavioural economics was about the influence of brands on purchasing decisions.

Dr Björn Held did his PhD in the field of Cognitive Psychology. After post-doctoral work on unconscious control mechanisms at the University of London, he applied his scientific expertise to Marketing practice by joining Unilever as a behavioural scientist. Working in England and Germany, he developed the first implicit testing methods to be applied successfully to consumer research. Bjorn worked for Beiersdorf AG from 2005 to 2011, including four years as Head of Market Research for Germany.

Dr. Martin Scarabis has been a partner at DECODE since 2007. Prior to this, he spent more than 10 years researching and teaching Psychology at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster. His scientific research focussed on the analysis of cognitive and motivational drivers of human decision-making. Over the past 15 years, Martin Scarabis has advised numerous international clients on marketing strategy issues and the development of specific initiatives. His expertise in practical marketing paired with a scientific foundation is valued by companies in B2C and B2B alike.

Johannes Schneider is an accomplished brand strategist with much experience in international advertising agencies. A certified psychologist with a specialism in marketing and advertising psychology, he is a passionate brand specialist who has experience with international consumer goods brands, and is an expert in the development and implementation of brand and communications strategies. He is co-author, with Dr. Christian Scheier, Dr. Dirk Held et. al., of Codes. Die geheime Sprache der Produkte (Haufe 2010). Before he switched to DECODE, Johannes was Planning Director at BBDO Dusseldorf where he had strategic responsibility for the global budget of Braun. Previously, as a strategic planner at JWT and Publicis Sasserath in Frankfurt, he worked with different brands from Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and Bongrain, among others. Before starting his career in advertising, Johannes worked in qualitative market research for three years. Since 2003, he has held a lectureship at the Institute for Psychology of the Johannes Gutenberg-University in Mainz.

Marc Heimeier is an expert on Brand Equity Management and a passionate 'neuro-marketeer'. Based on his 20-years experience at Henkel he knows all the daily challenges that a marketeer faces. As a pioneer, he introduced principles of neuropsychology to Henkel in 2007. He has used the DECODE Brandcode Management process for brands such as Persil, Spee and Perwoll with international success. Since the beginning of 2016 Marc has been sharing his knowledge and experience in consultancy projects with clients of DECODE.

Ulf Wentzien is a passionate Marketing Executive with over 30 years of experience in Marketing & Sales. In his role as CMO in DAX30 companies he was responsible for global growth as well as the development of new brands and business ideas. He is one of the very few Marketeers who have extensive hands on expertise both in B2C and B2B. In May 2021, he joined DECODE as a partner.

Anna-Maria Fischer joined our Research & Innovation Unit in September 2023. With an educational background in B.Sc. Business Psychology, she brings a blend of analytical prowess and understanding of human behavior to her role as a Junior Research Consultant. Her responsibilities include supporting senior consultants in the implementation of both local and international projects as well as developing tools and services to further uncover consumer insights.

Daphne Geißen is a project manager in the project management team. With a degree in social economics and experience in scientific research projects at the University of Hamburg, she has a deep understanding of social and economic contexts. She has been supporting the team in national and international projects for clients from a wide range of industries since 2023.

Anne Harloff supports two teams with her many years of expertise. As Senior Project Manager at DECODE, she has been managing national and international projects in the FMCG sector since 2017 and passes this practical knowledge on to the Data Processing & Automation team. She therefore acts as an important interface in the development of new processes and tools.
The sociologist studied at Bielefeld University and Malmö University. Her previous positions include: Allianz (Insurance & Finance), Gruner+Jahr (Media Research) and Tchibo (Consumer Insights)

Eva-Maria Kolb is a member of the Research & Innovation Unit at DECODE, where she is responsible for the implementation of international research projects using neuropsychological measurement methods. She is also jointly responsible for the development of new study designs based on current research findings. As a social scientist she has many years of experience in the field of data-driven research and project work. She graduated from the University of Siegen, where she conducted research in the fields of voting decisions and network theory, decision-making and leadership.

Angelika Krause is a member of DECODE’s Research & Innovation Unit, where she is jointly responsible for the implementation of neuropsychological measurement methods in international research projects. She has a degree in economics and has many years of experience working for major market research companies: She worked on ad-hoc research on the retail panel at GfK Marketingservices (Nuremberg). She was a key account executive at TNS Infratest (Frankfurt a.M.), where she was responsible for research for one of the largest international consumer goods manufacturers. She gained particular expertise in brand equity studies. Angelika has been working at DECODE for several years, which has built her expertise in neuromarketing.

Juliane Matussek has more than 10 years experience in Market Research and data-driven marketing consultancy. In DECODE's Research & Innovation Unit she is jointly responsible for the development of new methods of empirical measurement that are based on the latest neuroscientific findings. She graduated in Sociology from the University of Potsdam and also studied at Southampton University in the UK. Her career to date includes roles at Ipsos (Hamburg), Vocatus (Munich) and, most recently, Millward Brown (Hamburg) where she was Account Manager responsible for the brand communication and strategy needs of their consumer goods clients.

Darren Meineke joined the project management team as a Junior Project Manager in November 2023, contributing his many years of research experience in an academic environment and his expertise in qualitative and quantitative survey methods.
The sociologist also has a keen interest in process optimisation and automation.

Julia Richter has been a study leader in DECODE’s Research & Innovation Unit since 2016. She is responsible for the implementation of local and international research projects using neuropsychological measurement methods. She has many years of experience in market research in the telecommunications, customer satisfaction and automotive sectors. Prior to joining DECODE, she worked for IPSOS (Hamburg), where she was responsible for key account support and carrying our international studies.

Elena Sprogies, who holds a degree in sociology, is a Senior Research Manager in the Research & Innovation Team, responsible for the supervision of national and international projects. Since 2006, she has been supporting companies as a Research Manager in the area of brand strategy and its implementation through evidence-based insights. Stages of her professional career include Icon Added Value and Dr. von Keitz in Hamburg.

After successfully completing her Bachelor's degree in Political Science at the University of Hamburg, Leonie van Haeseler joined implicit diagnostics & solutions GmbH in 2015, which merged with DECODE Marketingberatung in 2023. She has a strong interest in new methods and techniques for data collection, modelling and presentation, especially in the context of social data. She supports the team Data Processing & Automation​ by overseeing the entire lifecycle of Power BI reports, ensuring that they meet stakeholder requirements while ensuring quality and accuracy.

Yvonne joined the DECODE project management team in March 2024, bringing with her three years of experience as a research consultant in a full-service market research institute. Yvonne holds a Master of Arts in Sociology with a focus on sociological methods and is passionate about combining her deep understanding of data with her insights into her clients' business issues, especially the FMCG sector.

Emily Panek has been working as a working student since April 2023 and in this position supports all teams in the successful implementation of implicit market research projects.
The psychologist (B.Sc.) is currently studying for a Master's degree in Psychology and Neuroscience at Bielefeld University. She is interested in human decision-making and how behaviour can be influenced by external factors.

Alina Wülfken is studying psychology in her advanced master's semester at the University of Hamburg. She successfully completed her Bachelor of Science at the Medical School Hamburg. She has already gained some experience in psychological research and has been a working student at DECODE since November 2023. She is very interested in understanding human behaviour.

Phil Barden is a proven marketer offering over 25 years of client-side experience, including senior and international roles at high profile companies such as Unilever, Diageo and T-Mobile. Fascinated by the insights from decision science and by the value these can bring to marketing, he quit his international brand director post in order to immerse himself in this new field. He is now one of very few experts to combine a practitioner's perspective with a profound knowledge of decision science, making him very much in demand among clients. Phil is a Fellow of The Marketing Society.

Miranda has over 20 years’ experience in brand planning, research and strategic communications in the advertising and media industries (BBC, Leo Burnett, KHBB, Ogilvy & Mather), gained during a period of unprecedented change in the communications landscape. She has a track record both in senior management positions in multinational agencies, holding two Executive Planning Director posts, and as an entrepreneur building a brand from initial idea to multi-market distribution. Her deep interest in human behaviour and consumer decision-making led her back to formal academic studies to complement her skills in brand building and consumer insight with an MSc (Distinction) in Psychology.

Dr. Nick Carnagey combines his behavioral science and business expertise to help clients grow their brands through leveraging the latest decision science insights. After a successful academic career in social-cognitive psychology, he transitioned into the business world by joining P&G and spent five years in brand managing roles.

Dr. Carnagey then joined the Behavioral Science Innovation Group and became a thought leader in growing brands through implementing behavioral insights science into day to day practice. He came to work with DECODE Marketing in this P&G role while exploring which external agencies had the best-in-class solutions in behavioral science application. He has been in charge of DECODE’s US office since October 2015.